Seeking Paradise
by MaestroJ
Summary: A pseudo-Jedi and a wandering Gungan team up to escape the isolated planet Naboo in search of grand adventure in a universe much bigger than they realize.


**Author's Note:** This is my first Fanfiction I've ever written. I'm working on my own book, but want practice writing and as much constructive criticism as I can get, so please offer any suggestions you can for me to improve my writing. As far as this story, it's sole purpose is for me to practice writing, so the story is set up to be episodic in nature. This way I can easily experiment with different kinds of scenarios. But this also means I will be more than open to any suggestions my readers might have as to where they would like to see Astiya and Seluba travel next. Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I, like everyone else, own none of this world. Everything Star Wars, from the Outer Rim to the lake Anakin and Padme had their wedding, is owned by George Lucas and Lucasarts.

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**Shaky Beginnings**

The lush forests of Naboo were always the perfect escape for Astiya. The tall trees suggested she was alone in the world, and she adored the tranquility of feeling alone. She could daydream about travelling the stars or meditate and reflect on the universe as well as her self. But it was time to stop daydreaming. She was nearly an adult and she had never explored any of what space had to offer. It was time she changed that.

She gracefully approached a nearby lakeshore, her footsteps hardly stirring the dirt beneath her. She was lightweight, neither tall nor short. Her stance brought out her feminine assets, but her face showed eagerness, a strong will, and determination.

When she neared the edge of the water she sat on a large rock, searching for something in the water. It wasn't long before she found what her eyes were scanning the water surface for.

A voice came from behind her, "Me-suh tinks you not good wit da force yet." A couple years ago, Astiya discovered she had the abnormal ability to manipulate people's thoughts and actions. Curious, she researched similar powers and eventually decided that the powers she was born with were of the Force the Jedi wield. She would have searched for formal training had it not been for her overprotective mother. However, she did not allow this setback to prevent her from growing in the Force and had, over the years, meditated and practiced everything she could learn from books and holocrons scattered throughout the Naboo libraries, as well as some very unique abilities which she invented herself. Astiya only let one other person know about her journey through the Force: the Gungan.

The deep Gungan voice made Astiya jump as she turned around to see that the Gungan she had been waiting for was leaning against a tree behind her the entire time. "Seluba!" She squeaked with excitement. The two briefly embraced, but they spared no time for pleasantries.

After the hug, Astiya quickly surveyed Seluba and commented on the spear resting on his back, "Is that all you're bringing?"

Seluba put a hand over his shoulder and grabbed the spear handle. He nodded and started leading the way back into the woods, toward the river city. Astiya caught up to Seluba's side and asked, "Are you ready, Seluba?"

Seluba grinned and announced, "Me-suh tinks me-suh been ready for a long, long time." He wiped the grin away from his face and looked down at Astiya, "Did you bring the guns?"

Astiya pulled out of the holsters at her side two guns, one blaster rifle and one pistol. She handed the pistol to the Gungan and explained, "They're my dad's. He didn't want me going out into the woods without any means of protecting myself." With a wink she held up the rifle for the Gungan to notice, "I allowed myself the liberty of some extra protection."

The Gungan chuckled and ducked under a low branch, "You-suh parents know you-suh leaving?"

Showing no remorse, Astiya replied, "They'll find out when I'm not there for breakfast in the morning."

Seluba ignored her answer and asked, "And you have the docking schedule?"

Astiya smiled sheepishly, "Just managed a copy this morning." She pulled a paper out of her pocket and unfolded it, "It looks a small ship is going to land in Dock 87 in about an hour. That'll give us enough time to buy some medical supplies before we escape this isolated planet."

"Amazing. Me-suh don't know how you do it."

"Well, you can just thank me when we're finally out of this hellhole."

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After an hour or so in the market buying odds and ends for their trip, the duo packed everything in a bag, which Astiya wore at her side. Seluba adjusted his top and secured the spear over his shoulder. Astiya checked the accessibility of her new rifle.

Once satisfied, the pair made their way to the docks. They went on foot, since the market was reasonably close to the station. The merchants all agreed that being close to the travel-weary residents and visitors would dramatically increase their profits, and for the most part, their efforts proved fruitful.

When Seluba first met Astiya, they had often wandered into the city. He was always uncomfortable with the numerous awkward glances that came his way on his casual visits, but he had grown to ignore them for the most part. Today, though, he was already nervous about stealing a ship, so anytime he made eye contact with a human he quickly averted his eyes.

Astiya noticed Seluba's fidgeting and smoothly calmed him, "None of them know what we're planning to do. Today is no different than any other day." They stopped at a map of the station to confirm the location of Dock 87. As they left the map, she added to Seluba, "Don't act suspicious. We don't want to attract anymore attention than we usually do."

Seluba eventually settled and focused hard on their mission. If they were going to pull it off, they were only going to do so discreetly and expertly. They were hoping to walk right on in and fly away, figuring no one would give them any notice if they kept cool heads on their shoulders. And if they did, the two were ready to say they were merely requested to unload some packages from shuttle. They didn't want to attempt anything at night when there would be hardly any traffic in the halls of the station. On the other hand, sneaking around during the day didn't seem like a spectacular idea, either. This way, if anyone were to seriously question them, they could just dart for the shuttle and pray they weren't shot down.

They soon reached the 80s and were starting to get anxious, as they knew they were nearing their destination. It was roughly half an hour after the approximate arrival time, so Astiya and Seluba were hoping the owners of the ship had already made their way out of the station and into the fresh air of Naboo.

Astiya and Seluba reached a portal with a large number 87 and the two turned to go inside. On the way, they were extremely grateful they did not run into any security droids.

They had no issues sneaking their way into the gate where the small shuttle was docked. Once in the harbor Astiya and Seluba examined the ship. Astiya recognized it from her readings as an earlier model in the YT series, most likely a YT-1210, easily piloted by a two-man crew. Seluba, who had restricted most of his transport knowledge to Gungan vehicles, stared at the shuttle cluelessly.

Astiya looked over at Seluba's addled expression and stifled a quick laugh. She comforted him, "Don't worry. I should know how to fly it." She nudged him with her elbow, "How hard can it be, right?"

Seluba fixed his face and looked at her with a look of stern realization, "You-suh never flown a ship?!" His eyes evaluated the pseudo-Jedi as if he was reconsidering joining her for this daft escape.

Her gaze dropped to the floor like a girl who was trying to get herself out of trouble, "No. But it doesn't seem very complicated." She looked back up at the Gungan with an optimistic smile on her face.

The Gungan retorted, "If we-suh crash, you-suh going down first." The Gungan responded with a smile of his own.

Astiya whined, "We-suh…We aren't going to crash!"

"Me-suh just saying. We-suh crash, you-suh go down first."

There was a momentary silence before the unlikely duo shared a laugh as they started walking toward the shuttle.

It wasn't long before Seluba found a way in. "Over here!" he shouted to Astiya, motioning for her to follow him. When she got there, she saw, to her surprise, the entryway wide open. This made her nervous, but she didn't hesitate long before following Seluba up the ramp leading into the shuttle.

Once inside, they headed toward the cockpit, neither of them exactly sure of its location. They both trusted the other to look for the cockpit from the outside, so they would have a general idea of where to find it. Unfortunately, neither of them did so.

The ship wasn't very large, though, so they found it easily enough. A very excited Astiya jumped straight into the pilot's chair and she started looking at all of the different buttons and levers to operate the flying metal mass. Seluba, a bit more nervous, cautiously approached the chair next to Astiya's.

Astiya didn't wait for the Gungan to get situated before she announced, "I think this one will close the door." Before the Gungan could say anything, Astiya pushed the button, and a sound toward the back of the ship suggested that she picked the right button.

"Now, which one of these starts her up?" Seluba leaned over to peer at the control board himself, but without warning, Astiya pressed the next button and the engine fired up with a roar, "Woo-hoo! Now it's time to fly out of this joint!"

Seluba braced his chair, expected to crash into a wall. He closed his eyes and grabbed his long ears in an attempt to block out the "whoops" and "uh-ohs" coming from the chair right next to him. But there was another part of him inside who was just as excited as Astiya knowing that they were on their way to starting new lives in an galaxy full of adventure.

The latter part of him took over and Seluba opened his eyes, wanted to take in the whole experience. He looked over at Astiya who had her hands on some controls. He could tell she was faking the confident expression which her face wore, but he had every faith in her nonetheless. A huge grin spreading across his face, Seluba joined the human girl in her celebratory shouts of victory.

Astiya glanced at Seluba and shouted over the noise of the engine, "This is, Seluba!" She started her own countdown, "5…4…" The Gungan joined her, creating a cacophonous harmony between her high-pitched voice and his deep growl, "3…2…1…"

The YT-1210 took off the ground. The Gungan stared at his partner-in-crime and said to himself, "Maybe she-suh know what she-suh doin'." As if in response, the shuttle started leaning toward the right and crashed into the wall. Everything in the ship rattled for a little bit before Astiya let out a weak, "Sorry."

Now the Gungan's original thoughts began to spread through his thoughts, "Me-suh got me-suh into huge doo-doo now…"

Astiya struggled with the controls for a few seconds, but she managed to gain enough control to fly the ship out of Dock 87 and they were off. In less than a minute the two of them were flying in space, without a destination in mind. The two rogues were finally free of their isolated, peaceful world. It was time for an adventure.

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**Author's Note:** Please review. All critiques appreciated, especially if anyone can give me suggestions on Gungan dialect. Thanks for reading!


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